me in the direction of my condo. We made it about a block before she pulled us underneath a storefront and knelt in front of me. The emotion in her eyes matched the thickness in my chest.
“That’s a moment I’ll remember forever,” she whispered.
“Me too.” As I wiped the wetness off Whitney’s cheek, I could still feel the sweet girl’s hug, the love that had been in her arms. “You know, every day that’s passed, I’ve wished more than anything that I’d been in Dubai, not at the race with Joe.” I looked toward the street, the mother and daughter still wrapped around each other. “I don’t wish that anymore.” My eyes moved back to Whitney. “I don’t know who I’m going to become, but I’m not going to be the man I was, and I don’t want to be.” I clasped our hands. “I know I’m one of the lucky ones; she was right about that, and so were you.”
Several more tears dripped when she said, “I’m proud to know you, Caleb Hunt. I’m even prouder to have you in my life.”
Eleven
A quietness followed us back to my condo, and so did a steady breeze of emotion that I still felt during the ride up the elevator and when we entered my foyer. Whitney automatically pushed me toward my bedroom. After being outside, I wasn’t ready to return to that dungeon.
“The couch,” I said before we reached the living room. With it being about fifteen yards away, I added, “And I’d like to walk there.”
“With your walker,” she corrected.
I had yet to take a step without it and agreed, “Yes.”
She grabbed the device from the wall and brought it to me. “You were sore this morning and had an hour of PT, followed by a long and very challenging afternoon. I know you’re tired, so please be extra careful … for me.”
Strength and independence were my goals. To get there, I had to continue fighting. If today had taught me anything, it was that.
I prepared myself to stand, leveling my feet on the ground, rising only with my legs. I immediately gripped the arms of the walker, and Whitney’s hand was on me before I even took a breath.
Within the first step, I felt the heaviness of the day. My bones ached, my muscles stiff. The tiredness threatened to make me careless, but I forced myself to focus.
“You’re doing so good,” she celebrated as I passed a sitting area. “How do you feel?”
“Determined.”
And that was what drove me to go farther, to do an additional loop around the large sectional rather than head straight for my seat. I paused when the fire became too much in my legs, giving it several seconds to calm before I continued. I kept my stride short, not the length I was previously used to. The sight of the cushions was a relief when I finally reached them. I was winded when I sat, my body screaming from just the small amount of exercise.
I waited for the torment to subside before I found Whitney’s smiling face next to me.
“I’m so incredibly proud of you again.”
“That was for Gracie.”
Her hand rubbed across my scruff. “I know.” She leaned into me, her kiss starting off tender until her tongue parted my lips, coming in to taste me.
I pulled her closer, gripping the waist of her scrubs, wanting more than anything to rip them off. “Stay tonight. Don’t leave.”
I guided her over, and she straddled my lap but didn’t give me any of her weight.
“Would it be all right if I canceled Veronica?” She held my shoulders, nose brushing the end of mine. “I want to wake up next to you …” A redness moved across her cheeks. “But I wouldn’t be comfortable if there was another nurse here.”
I cupped the heat on her face and laughed. “Welcome to my new world of awkwardness. I’m just fortunate our first encounter was a sponge bath, and you weren’t responsible for removing my catheter.”
“For the record, I’m very gentle.”
I kissed the smile on her lips, and even though she was all I could feel, I still couldn’t get enough of this gorgeous woman. She was an energy, a sensation, a beacon of hope that I didn’t want to let go of.
“Whitney, there’s something so special about you.”
Our faces were only inches apart, the warmth of her breath filled with the sweetness of coconut.
She scanned my gaze back and forth and said, “When I’m with you, I’m not afraid of